As the Camosun Chargers host the national menB次元官网网址檚 volleyball championships this week it might seem like itB次元官网网址檚 the end of the season when this is actually the very moment the Chargers started the season. Well, mentally, that is.
The Chargers earned the right to play in this weekB次元官网网址檚 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association nationals, hosted at the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence, by , beating the Vancouver Island University Mariners in four sets, 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 25-14.
Check out this court! tuning up tonight for the big week as menB次元官网网址檚 nationals start Thursday
B次元官网网址� Saanich B次元官网网址 (@saanichnews)
The national championships opened Thursday with the quarterfinal round, as Camosun squared off against the Keyano Huskies. The winner advances to the semifinals, slated for 6 and 8 p.m. Friday. The bronze medal game gets underway at 6 p.m. Saturday followed by the national championship final at 8 p.m. Other teams taking part include the SAIT Trojans, G茅ants de Saint-Jean, Fanshawe Falcons, VIU Mariners, Titans de Limoilou and St. Thomas Tommies.
Win or lose at nationals, this week is the seasonal culmination of a plan that went right for the Chargers. It started back in September when coach Charles Parkinson shared his plan with the team.
B次元官网网址淲e map out everything we need to do ahead of the provincials and then we work backwards,B次元官网网址� Parkinson said.
So if the team is working backwards from the provincials, itB次元官网网址檚 gone all the way to the beginning, making it to nationals. Or was that forward. The point is, there is good reason the Chargers are in the fourth year of a dynasty.
They have a highly detailed coach in Parkinson (whoB次元官网网址檚 also a CBC commentator and one-time Commonwealth Games medalist), and a program that has earned a national reputation with three straight trips to the national semifinals (including the 2015 national title). And the team is loaded with a mix of high-level local talent and international recruits.
B次元官网网址淚n our plan, we build on what we need to do and itB次元官网网址檚 a combination of tactical, physical and mental preparation, and it takes time for all of those things to come together,B次元官网网址� Parkinson said.
This year the plan was tested. Having started the PacWest season with a 3-1 record, the Chargers were penalized for an ineligible player and that 3-1 record was wiped out. One of the Chargers had failed to maintain his athletic eligibility as he was a credit short from the previous yearB次元官网网址檚 academic record.
B次元官网网址淲hen we found out we reported it immediately. He was suspended the first half, and our first four matches were forfeited,B次元官网网址� Parkinson said.
The players, however, didnB次元官网网址檛 flinch.
B次元官网网址淲e knew we were winning and playing well, we just kept rolling,B次元官网网址� said Chargers fifth-year libero Elion Wong.
The team entered the provincials in third place with a record of 13-11 but were on a streak of seven wins in their final eight games of the regular season. In that regard, the Chargers werenB次元官网网址檛 surprising anyone. But, with nationals at home in Saanich, the pressure to win this year was less, and it paid off, Wong said.
Wong also credited ParkinsonB次元官网网址檚 plan, saying each season basically comes down to peaking at the playoffs.
B次元官网网址淐oach always tells us not to worry during the regular season, itB次元官网网址檚 about bringing everything together for the playoffs,B次元官网网址� Wong said.
.
